Foreign Love Trip
by MadBlossomingPrincess
Summary: In an attempt to get over long time crush Atemu, Mana goes with her brother to Europe on a business trip. Unfortunately for her, she didn't realize that her romantic life was going to get a lot more complicated!
1. Chapter 1

MBP: Okay, so this is Rini's new pet project... She'd appreciate it if you read and reviewed, because she's rather down because her last pet project finished...

Rini: REVIEW!

Kio: Um... MBP owns nothing...

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_**Chapter One**_

What is the worst thing that a teenage girl can do during high school? The answer is fall in love with her best guy friend, who has no idea how she really feels, and when he himself only likes her as a sister.

I did that when I turned fifteen. Atemu still has no idea, and it's been a whole year since.

And do you know what the worst thing a sixteen year old girl can do over the summer? Because I think I'm about to find out, and it's not pretty...

The answer is wreak havoc in a foreign country when you're accompanying your brother on his business trip because you want to avoid your unrequited love during the entire summer.

And no, wreaking havoc was not my intention...

-A diary entry from Mana Tsukiyomi, dated after the summer of 2012

~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana heard the shrill shrieks and slammed her pillow over her head, unable to rid herself of the sound. A little irritated, she knocked her alarm clock off her nightstand, effectively silencing the evil thing. Of course, she also broke it too, so that wasn't good.

"Mana, time to get ready to go!" Mahado called from downstairs, inciting a groan from his younger sister. Didn't he remember that teenagers generally slept in during the summer?

"I want to sleep..." Mana mumbled as she trailed into the kitchen after the scent of frying meat. It would be so bad for the diet she was thinking of starting, but at six in the morning on the first week of summer, she was beyond caring.

"I'm sorry, really, but I'm not leaving you home alone for three weeks," Mahado said unsympathetically. Mana fastened a glare at his back that he didn't notice. "We could always ask the Motou family to take you in, but I feel bad asking last minute..."

His last sentence woke Mana up effectively as she shook her head frantically. "No, that's okay! I don't mind going, I'm just a bit sleepy, that's all! Don't bother them! I can sleep on the way, no problem!"

Mahado watched, unable to get used to his sister as she ran back upstairs to get dressed. Up until a year ago, Mana would have been begging to stay with Atemu and Yugi, and he'd have to find a way to calm her down before dropping her off. Now she was avoiding the Motou house like the plague...

Mahado put it down to female hormones and continued cooking. They'd take their breakfast to go...

Mana sighed at the close call she'd just had. No, there was no way she could be near Atemu this summer. She loved him, much more than he thought she did. And if she was around him this summer, the last summer here before he left for college, then it was sure to come out and ruin their friendship.

She quickly grabbed the first outfit she could find: a jean miniskirt and a white blouse. She just ran a brush through her hair, leaving it messy, but under an amount of semi-control. Mana was beyond caring about shoes, so she grabbed a pair of mismatched socks and tennis shoes.

"Mahado, is Isis here?" Mana shouted as she skipped steps coming down. "Oh, hi Isis!"

"Hello Mana," Isis said, sipping a cup of coffee Mahado had made. "Are you all packed?"

"Duh! Big Brother here made me pack weeks in advance!" Mana complained, sneaking a piece of bacon. Mahado sent a look of slight annoyance and Mana sent him a grin. "I packed the important stuff: phone charger, laptop, laptop charger, phone, some stationary if I have nothing else to do, and the portable tv!"

"What about clothes?" Isis asked, raising her eyebrows expectantly. If there was anything she knew about her boyfriend's sister, it was that she never went anywhere without at least one change of clothes.

"I just packed the entire closet!" Mana grinned teasingly, taking another bacon. "So, when are we going? We're going soon right?"

"Just as soon as I finish cooking breakfast... Mana, hands off the bacon!" Mana snatched her hand away from the bacon as Mahado issued the order, ignoring Isis' calm smile at her reaction.

"Jeez... and you thought I'd make us wait..." Mana settled for mumbling, unable to sit still.

Mahado rolled his eyes discreetly and finished cooking breakfast. "You might want to hunt down that motion-sickness medicine while you wait," He warned his sister, who began to look green at even the thought of needing it. "It's a long plane ride."

"Ewww..." "Just think Mana, it could have been a boat ride," Isis reminded the younger girl, who actually began to turn green.

"I'm looking for that medicine now!" Mana ran off, leaving the young couple alone in the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them were in Isis' car, on their way to Domino's airport. Mana curled up miserably in the back seat, closing her eyes and praying she wouldn't throw up on Isis' leather seats.

"Bye Mana... I'll see you in a few months," Isis said quietly as Mana escaped the car.

"Yeah... bye!" Mana left and went ahead to give her brother some alone time with his girlfriend. If she was lucky, he'd manage to miss the flight and they'd have to find alternative transportation... like teleportation! Yeah, that would be cool!

"It's impossible," Mahado said, reading his sister's mind as he came up behind her and ushered her to the plane. "Come on, it's time to get on." Mana turned green, and then very pale.

"It's a metal death-trap," She whispered as she was forced to get on. She sat down and put on her seatbelt shakily, holding onto the armrests tightly. "Human beings were never meant to fly in giant metal things that people call planes. Same with boats. Giant metal tubs that go against nature."

Mahado chuckled and let his sister get the rant out of her system before ruffling her hair gently. "Don't worry sis," He said, showing the affection he rarely showed to her. "Just go to sleep. I won't let the plane fall out of the sky."

"Promise?" Mana asked, getting sleepy again, and reverting back to the gullible five year old she'd been, believing her big brother could do anything. "Pinky promise?"

"Of course..." Mana smiled as she fell asleep, relaxing as Mahado covered her up with a blanket. She'd be alright as long her brother was there... nothing could go wrong...

~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana was not pleased with her brother. Not. At. All. Not only was she forced to watch two little boys, aged 12 and 13, she was getting babysat by Mahado's business associate. Stupid Mahado!

"You're the CEO for Kaiba Corp., right?" Mana attempted another stab at conversation, only to receive a grunt and a nod in response. He may have been rich, and damn well rivaled Atemu for hottest guy on the planet, but he was the biggest ass she'd ever met!

"He's only CEO until I take over..." The green-haired boy, Noah, muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Mana to hear. The idea of the little boy kicking this Seto Kaiba off his position was hilarious, so Mana giggled. Of course, she was also supporting Noah, but still... the mental image was funny!

Noah glanced at her, surprised, but pleased at the attention. His younger brother, Mokuba, shook his head and sighed quietly, obviously used to it by now.

"So, you're Mana, right? Your brother speaks highly of you," Mokuba said quietly and Mana scoffed silently in her head. Mahado? Highly of her? Who was he and what had he done with her brother?

"He also talks about fires, floods, explosions..." Noah muttered, and Mokuba hit his brother discreetly to be polite. Mana faked a gasp and covered her heart in mocking dismay of the two.

"He didn't mention the time I made the wall fall down? It was my best work!" (A/N: It's Mana... do you need an explanation? She's very... imaginative...)

All three boys sent their attention to her, two in admiration, the other in annoyance. Mahado coughed to clear his throat as he approached, already knowing what his younger sister had been talking about.

"Perhaps we should go to the hotel," Mahado suggested quietly, breaking the tension effectively.

"Noah, Mokuba, the car will take the two of you home." Seto's words were instantly met with protests, and his eyes turned cold for a moment before softening.

"Mokuba, you said you needed to work on that computer program," Seto reminded his youngest brother, ruffling his hair. "And Noah, didn't you say Mr. Hawkin's grand-daughter was coming and you needed to get ready?"

"Oh yeah!" The boys chorused, and then said their goodbyes, bowing to Mana and Mahado before dashing off towards the car. Seto followed Mahado and entered their rental, leaving Mana to sit in the back while Mahado drove, a fact she didn't particularly enjoy. Shotgun was her spot, and if Mahado hadn't preached about good behavior, she'd have claimed it and kicked the no-good rich boy out of her seat in a moment. For the moment however, she was willing to take the backseat for her brother. But just for the moment...

Mana glanced out the window and then stared. It was gorgeous! Cute shops, really cute cafes, extremely cute guys... Mana shook her head. No, that wasn't a priority! She can appreciate the good-looking guys, but her main priority was to avoid thinking of a certain guy in particular, and she knew that if she obsessed over a different boy, then she'd end up comparing the two, and that wasn't fair to anyone involved. And despite what people think, she wasn't the type of person to callously hurt someone, even if it wasn't intentional.

"Enjoying the view?" Mana snapped to attention when Mahado spoke, grinning when she actually comprehended what he was saying.

"Yeah! It's beautiful here!" Mana was returning her attention to the landscape, wishing she had her camera on her instead of in her luggage. She'd be taking pictures nonstop!

Mana spaced out for the rest of the car ride, skipping through the hotel to their room, laughing when Mahado and Seto followed her, and hopping impatiently for them to unlock the door. Now that there was no trace of motion-sickness left, she was her normal hyper self... actually, she was worse, because she had to make up for it.

Mana dragged her bags into the better of the two rooms, claiming it instantly. She hadn't planned on it originally, but it had a bed full of pillows. Covered with pillows. Mana loved pillows; she could just jump on them and then she could live happy.

Plus, it had a nice bathroom, and what girl didn't want that?

Oh, and the other plus... a really good view of the pool. A very good view of the pool from the window, where she could observe and no one would see her unless they were trying to.

"Mana, I'm heading down to meet with some people. Would you like to come?" Mana cringed mentally. Go down and meet with a bunch of likely old people that would all be business-like and most likely boring? Her brother must be on some kind of drug if he actually thought she'd say yes.

"No, I'll stay here!" Mana gestured to her bags. "Unpack, rest, enjoy the very nice bathroom facilities they have here! You know, the works!" Mahado nodded and left the room, and Mana attempted to unpack before she got extremely bored and just tore her luggage apart trying to find her laptop. She would have texted people, but for some reason she got some stupid, _Text talk is unavailable, please try again later_ message. Worldwide service? Lies!

Mana sat herself down on the bench conveniently placed near the window overlooking the pool. "Thank goodness the internet still works..." she muttered to herself, opening up an email. She paused for a moment, thinking about who to send an email to. Finally, she just went through her contacts list and made her own little group.

**Sent To: Everyone but Atemu**

**From: Mana**

**Subject: Greetings from England!**

**Hello my friends! Before I begin, I am swearing you all to secrecy. You may tell no one of my correspondence to you, not even your family, even if they were on their deathbed and it was their last wish. Okay, that's all!**

**England is... pretty. Cute shops, cafes, and just for you Miho, I'm telling you that the guys here are really cute too! It's almost too pretty to be real. It's almost fake, and it's kinda creepy. Something needs to be wrong with this place! But, oh wells! Free vacation for me!**

**Right now, I'm sitting in the best spot of the hotel... right over the pool! The view from here is much better than the best tourist spot... yummy guys with bodies, all wet from the pool. **

**I take that back. I see my brother down there, so it means that his business associates are down there swimming... Just ignore the paragraph before this.**

**Anyways, I gotta ask some people stuff, and I'm too lazy to send more emails, so... if you're not the person listed, then you skip it and go to the bottom! :D**

**Yugi: I meant that whole family thing by the way. Don't tell anyone. And games. Can you think of any you want? I'll send you some from England!**

**Miho: I will attempt to take pictures for you, I promise! Lots and lots of pictures! We'll drool over them together when I get back!**

**Duke: Can you send me the information from that game you were teaching me? If I get totally bored, I can try teaching myself!**

**Rebecca: Are you coming too? Or is there another Mr. Hawkins in the business with a grand-daughter? Please tell me it's you so we can hang out!**

**Kisara: Send me some patience, my dear wonderful friend! I'll need it if I have to deal with Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp. every single day of this vacation!**

**Okay, well, that's all folks! I'll be sending emails daily, so you'd better be checking and replying! And my phone's not working, so send an email! XD**

**Bye byes! See you all in a few months!**

**~Mana**

MBP: So, like it? Have something you really despised about the story? Then please be nice and tell me in a review! And to make Rini's day!

Rini: Please review! I will mentally send you cookies and cupcakes and cake and brownies and ice cream if you do!

Kio: Um... they're both insane... Jaa nee...


	2. Chapter 2

MBP: Here's the second chapter!

Rini: Hope you enjoy this! In advance, please and thank you for reading and reviewing!

MBP: Wow Rini...

Kio: MBP owns nothing!

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_**Chapter Two**_

I like guys. I really like good-looking guys, and I like getting their attention. That's normal right? It's normal for a sixteen year old girl to like having attractive guys like her, right? I think so, so maybe I should stop liking it, just to be unique...

Anyways, so when did being liked turn into some giant problem? Romance is supposed to be... well, romantic! I mean, the occasional love triangle is cool, but... this is way too much!

~Diary entry of Mana Tsukiyomi, first night of the trip to England, summer of 2012

~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana grimaced at the dress Mahado had forced her to pack, wondering why they had to go to a formal the day they arrived in this stupid country. Hadn't anyone here heard of jet lag?

Apparently not, and apparently her brother was immune to it, because he was still wide awake after the flight and swimming. Mana wasn't, and the fact that her brother had something over her didn't make her happy.

"I can always stay in the hotel!" Mana suggested half-heartedly. It would probably be boring if she did, so it really was a no win situation in her eyes.

"Mana..."

"I'm getting ready!" Mana sighed, scowling to herself. She liked formal dancing... when she was with her friends. Like Atemu...

Mana shook her thoughts away and pulled on the white dress in a hurry. She'd actually bought this dress for the formal back in Japan, but in the end hadn't gone. No one in her group had, and she didn't want to go alone, so the dress had gone forgotten in the back of her closet.

She really liked the dress... She just wished that she could look pretty for someone else.

The dress hugged the curves of her upper body, framing her chest easily, and then flowed down to the floor. There was a small amount of gold embroidery on the hem, and the sleeves that hung on the side of her arms with barely any support. Mana had pinned her hair back with some gold pins using the minimum amount of effort necessary. Formal, but casual... just the way she liked it.

"Mahado, I'm ready!" Mana called, going out to the front room, freezing when she saw people in there. "Um... hi?"

"Mana!" Rebecca dashed towards her friend and engulfed her in a tight hug quickly.

"Rebecca!" Mana laughed with the younger girl cheerfully. "I'm not alone!"

"Nope!" Rebecca twirled in a light pink gown happily. "How do I look?"

"It looks great!" Mana complimented, laughing when Mahado came in, dressed in his tuxedo. "Wow Brother, you clean up nice!" Mahado chuckled at his younger sister and shook his head. "Same to you," he replied, completely ignored by the girl as she twirled with Rebecca.

The others on the couch chuckled easily, amused by the two girls. Mana noticed them all for the first time and froze mid-step.

"Who are you?" She asked, watching them suspiciously. Bodyguards? Business people? Random people in their hotel room?

"Grandpa sent them with me!" Rebecca explained, tugging on Mana's arm. "You guys, go! Shoo shoo! I'll ride with Mana, right?" Rebecca and Mana both turned puppy-dog eyes towards Mahado, who sighed in defeat.

"Fine..." "Yay!" The girls chorused, running off to the car quickly, far ahead of the others.

The ride was loud, with Mana laughing for real for the first time since they'd arrived. Mahado tried to stay out of the two girl's business, and Rebecca was talking about Noah Kaiba, with Mana teasing her friend relentlessly.

"Wow... so pretty!" Mana breathed, stopping at the top of the staircase with Mahado and Rebecca. "Look Rebecca!"

"I prefer the farm more," Rebecca replied bluntly, but not enough to bring down Mana's mood.

The ballroom was a wild mixture of color and coordinated chaos. Everywhere she looked, she could see people moving around and dancing. She wondered how anyone could ever find the people they were looking for in the chaos.

"Mana, let's go," Mahado prodded, motioning for the girl to move forward. Mana did so quickly, making sure she didn't lose sight of her brother. With her luck, she'd end up getting lost in the crowd and never be seen again.

"Mahado." Mana knew that voice, and apparently, so did Rebecca.

"Seto! Where's Noah and Mokuba?" Rebecca demanded as soon as the boy was in earshot.

"Mokuba's talking to some business partners by the balcony, and Noah's probably by the refreshments," Seto replied, not fazed when she ran past him to go find the younger boys. "Hello Mahado... Mana."

Mana frowned discreetly at the pause before her name. "Hello Mr. Kaiba," she replied politely, scanning the dance floor for anyone she knew. She didn't see anyone.

"Mahado? Oh crap, hide!"

"Shut up!"

Mana turned at the sound of the voices, ignoring the sighs from her brother and Seto. She found two boys scuffling with each other, trying to use the other to hide behind, and loudly at that. She giggled quietly at the sight, and with one last look to her brother, she walked over to them.

"Hello! I'm Mana!" She introduced herself cheerfully. "Who are you?"

"Marik Ishtar."

"Touzoku Bakura. Just call me Bakura."

Mana giggled and curtsied, wobbling a little. "So, what did you do to my brother?" She asked, trying to make conversation.

"Not much, only glued his... wait, brother?" Marik started to confess and stopped.

Mana nodded. "Yeah! He was acting like you'd pranked him, so I need to know what you did, so I can see if it was awesome enough for me to use!"

Marik and Bakura looked at each other and then smirked. Turning to Mana, they started their long list of pranks...

~~()~~()~~()~~

"Okay, the whole superglue thing was amazing! How'd you get it on his phone?" Mana's eyes were wide in admiration, and the two boys basked in glory.

"Well, he left it on the table, at a time we both conveniently had superglue on us," Marik said easily.

"Then he gave us perfect access to his clothes and a washing machine," Bakura noted.

"Is that why he came home with a pink suit?" Mana's eyes grew even wider and the boys nodded.

"He shouldn't bring red socks and a white suit," Bakura shrugged. "Especially when he's staying at the Ishtars."

Mana giggled and nodded her agreement. "No, he shouldn't!"

"Bakura... Marik... who's this?" A girl approached quietly in a dark green gown, white hair braided down her back.

"Hmm? Amane, this is Mahado's sister, Mana. Mana, my sister, Amane." Bakura and Marik both immediately straightened their backs and gave their attention to the girl.

"Nice to meet you!" Mana chirped happily, getting a smile and a nod in response from the girl.

"And you too," Amane said quietly, smiling as Mana continued talking easily.

"So anyways, I don't know anyone here, so I'm happy to meet people that I like talking to!" Mana gushed. "Well, I know Rebecca, so I'll probably steal all her spare time!"

Amane giggled, and Mana proceeded to completely ignore the boys she'd just been talking to. Both Marik and Bakura kept an eye on her. She was completely different from anyone else they'd ever met, and it intrigued both of them...

~~()~~()~~()~~

"May I have this dance?" Mana felt someone tap her shoulder and turned to face yet another stranger. She tried to place a name to the face, but...

"My name's Valon," the boy said helpfully and Mana grinned and nodded.

"Oh, one of Mahado's partners!" Mana giggled and took his hand cheerfully, easily getting into dance position. She'd been asked to dance a lot by his different partners, and by others that she'd met that night. Of course, she could count on one hand how many people she'd known before this formal.

"So... what do you do?" Mana asked conversationally, spinning as Valon turned her easily.

"Whatever Dartz wants me to."

Mana grinned at the blunt answer. "That's real specific," She teased gently, gaining herself a raise of his eyebrows. "Anything else? Do you enjoy it?"

"It's work," Valon replied, dipping the girl. He hadn't wanted to dance with her, it was Dartz's idea. Something about getting on Mahado's good side without being too obvious.

"But can't you enjoy work?" Mana asked persistently as the dance progressed. "I mean, surely you can have fun with it!"

Valon looked at her in such a way it reminded her of someone. Joey. A very serious Joey. She giggled at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Valon asked, unknowingly reminding her more of Joey, just from the way he said it.

"It's just... you reminded me of... of a friend of mine from home!" Mana giggled cheerfully. "It's n-nothing... Don't worry about it!"

Valon worried about it. He wasn't sure he trusted the girl to not be making fun of all of them in that empty head of hers. Okay, that was harsh... she wasn't that much of an idiot.

"Really, it's nothing!" Mana deduced the reason for Valon's increased silence correctly. "It's just... the guy you kind of reminded me of is an idiot, which you're obviously not!"

Valon raised his eyebrows in response, ever cynical. "Is that a compliment?"

Mana giggled again, and curtsied as the music came to an end. "I don't know," She said as she backed into the crowd. "Did you take it as one?"

~~()~~()~~()~~

"That was fun!" Mana gushed to her brother as they waited to make sure Rebecca's ride picked her up before they left. "I especially liked hearing about your relationship to Marik and Bakura..."

"Don't remind me of that. In fact, stay away from them. You don't need help coming up with pranks," Mahado scolded gently, but Mana could tell he was kind of serious.

"Mahado... I like them," Mana said, holding her brother's arm. "And they'd be fun to hang out with. If I promise that I won't prank you here, can I hang out with them?"

Mahado sighed, ruffling his sister's hair, much to her displeasure. "Fine," he gave in reluctantly, smiling a little at his sister's squeal of happiness. "How'd you like the others?"

"Hmm... I liked Amane!" Mana thought about it. "Seto's a good dancer I guess, but he really needs to learn how to talk! Mokuba and Noah were really cute when they switched off between me and Rebecca for the waltzing! Dartz was really... awkward to dance with, but Valon was pretty cool!"

"You danced with Valon?" Mahado asked, surprised. He hadn't seen that dance, and he'd watched her nearly the whole time to make sure she didn't insult anyone.

"Yeah! He kind of reminds me of Joey!" Mana admitted, laughing openly as they went to the hotel room. "A very serious Joey! Woah, is it really that late?"

The clocks all read 3:49 am. Mana stared at the clocks and then laughed. "Wow, I'm not tired at all! I thought I'd be, but I'm not!"

"You need to get some sleep," Mahado advised, pulling off his tie as Mana locked the doors. "We still have that garden party tomorrow." Mana groaned but nodded. "I know... then I get to explore, right? No more business parties unless I want to go?"

"Yes, that was the deal," Mahado shook his head calmly at his sister's excitement.

"Okay, then I'll head to my room!" Mana cheered happily. "I'll just send a few emails, and then I'm going to sleep!" Mahado shook his head as she disappeared into her room, eagerly opening her laptop and opening her email. She got the gist of the replies she'd gotten from her earlier email, and then opened up a new one so she could send replies again.

**Sent to: Everyone but Atemu**

**From: Mana**

**Subject: Formals in England are AWESOME!**

**I love formals here! It was so pretty! You all can ask Rebecca! She was there, and it was awesome and fun and cool and awesomicals! **

**There was dancing, obviously, and it was so much fun! We should all go to formals more often! Girls, it's an excuse to dress up, and guys, it's an excuse to hold the girls you like close to you! Just think about it!**

**Okay, and the guys in England (guys, skip this), the guys in England are sooooo HOT! **

**Guy one: Seto Kaiba. He's an insufferable jerk, but he's so good looking! **

**Guy two: Marik Ishtar. Prankster who went against Mahado, with one of the best visible but hidden bodies I've ever seen. **

**Guy three: Touzoku Bakura (just called Bakura tho...) Another prankster, great body, awesome hair, sweet sister. :D**

**Guy four: Valon (never got a last name... what's wrong with me?) A bit quiet, kind of a cynic, and may I say it... he's a serious Joey. Strange, but kind of funny anyways... **

**Anyways, here's personal notes! Skip if you're not here! **

**Kisara: Thank you for the patience, it's much appreciated! I must have received it, because I know that I was about to kill Seto Kaiba for not speaking when we were dancing tonight!**

**Miho: My dear friend, I will try to get pictures of the hot guys. I really will. I promise. But I still want the originals, okay?**

**Yugi: Okay, I'll try to hunt them down! After tomorrow, I should have the time to go hunt down stuff for everyone! Yay!**

**Duke: Thanks for the game instructions! I'll be sure that I can put up a fight when I get back! I will defeat you eventually! Be ready! Mwahahahaha! :D**

**Tea: I have your b-day present, and since I know I won't be back for your b-day, it's all pretty and wrapped up on my desk in my room. Feel free to walk in and grab it! You know where the spare key is, and you're always welcome in the house if you need to get out!**

**That's everything! Thanks so much for all your replies, I feel so loved! Yay for love! Haha, well, that's all for now! Don't forget me! Or Rebecca! Talk to Rebecca too! **

**Okay, bye byes! See you all in a few months!**

**~Mana **

MBP: Hope you enjoyed! Please review please, so I don't have Rini screaming at me during finals tomorrow...

Rini: REVIEW PLEASE! PRESS THE BUTTON!

MBP: Kio, please finish this up... *drags crazy Rini away*

Kio: Um... hope you liked it everyone... Jaa nee!


	3. Chapter 3

MBP: Okay, here's the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy!

Rini: Yep, yep, yep! Hope you all like it! Hope you all like it enough to review... shameless hinting there! XD

MBP: Rini...

Kio: Um... MBP owns nothing!

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_**Chapter Three**_

Garden parties. The first thing that comes to mind to me is old-fashioned dresses, tea, and the romance just able to be touched. I mean, you can almost touch the romance! The whole idea of a garden party is just so romantic!

Never go to a real garden party. For the most part, they're completely boring. Seriously. It's a lot of old people talking about business and not much else. I mean, there are a few good things, like... well, some of the people there are just as bored as you are and they're willing to talk...

Not to mention, there are cute people there! I mean, that's so not what I was looking forward to, or what I was looking for, but hey! You take what you get right?

~Diary entry of Mana Tsukiyomi, first week of trip to England, summer of 2012

~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana sighed, reaching for her phone to text someone on the way to the Ishtar Manor, only to get the same stupid, _Text is not available right now, please try again later_ message.

She really needed to talk to Mahado about her so-called worldwide service.

"...and please don't cause any trouble with Marik, I'm begging... Mana, are you listening?"

Mana looked up at her brother innocently, not sure what he was talking about, having zoned out the entire time. "What? I won't do anything!"

Mahado didn't look convinced, but seeing as they were already at the manor, he couldn't really do much.

Mana jumped out of the car quickly and stretched as well as she could in the dress she was wearing. She favored light colors, especially bright colors, so she'd donned a light green sundress for the day. However, she couldn't do much in it, seeing as it only went down to her knees...

Oh well... it looked cute!

"Mana!" Both Mahado and Mana looked up to see Amane waving in a light pink dress from the gate. "Hello!"

"Hi!" Mana skipped right over, leaving her brother behind without a second thought. "How are you?"

"I'm fine..." Amane said quietly, leading Mana to the actual party. Mana looked around excitedly, seeing a majority of them were people she'd met before.

Marik and Bakura looked up at exactly the right time and saw the pair of girls standing at the entrance to the garden and scrambled to make an opening. Both girls giggled at the same time at the way they moved so quickly and walked over there, sharing a conspiring glance.

"Brother... I kind of wanted that seat..." Amane said, almost unnoticable mischief in her voice, pointing to the seat that Marik was sitting in. Bakura immediately began pushing Marik off the chair, who protested and started fighting a mini-war for possession of the chair.

Mana giggled with Amane, impressed at her deviousness. "So, this is the place that Mahado was tormented?" She asked, grinning at the other girl, already sure that she'd found a good friend. "You know... pink suit, superglued phone... all that stuff?"

"You mean Marik and Bakura didn't tell you about the time they locked him in a storage closet with all the paint?" Amane asked wide-eyed. "He came out all covered in different colors!"

Mana burst out laughing and shook her head, turning to the boys. "Why didn't you tell me about that?" She scolded them gently, stopping their fight. "That's amazing! How'd you even manage to lock him in a closet?"

"Mana..." Mahado appeared out of nowhere, shocking the entire group. "Don't get any ideas." He disappeared just as quickly, leaving the four of them greatly disturbed.

"Mana, did you know your brother's creepy?" Marik stated after a moment. "Just showing up like that..."

"Makes you just want to do something to him, just to make sure he's human," Bakura mumbled, making sure that Mahado wasn't going to pop in behind him. The girls giggled at the boys and nodded.

"Well, I know he's human!" Mana laughed, unknowingly attracting attention by at least three different areas of the party. "Only a human can react to floating in a pool three miles away!"

"Wait, what's this about?" Amane asked, her eyes wide in wonder. With a brother like Bakura, she'd learned to appreciate pranks in all their little ways.

"Oh, at home, me and a bunch of friends had a game to see who could prank Mahado the best!" Mana said proudly, grinning at the memory of Mahado's reactions. "Of course, that wasn't my prank, but it was still amazing!"

"What was your prank?" Bakura asked curiously, sitting across from the girl as she smirked.

"Well, mine was more of a revenge thing," Mana admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "He wouldn't let me join the soccer team, so I found out how to knock down just his bedroom walls, and he was relaxing in there when I kicked my soccer ball into the wall, knocking it completely off!"

She earned herself incredulous stares. "How's that even possible?" Marik asked out loud.

"It's not possible," Bakura said in response. "We'd have done it already."

"That's amazing!" Amane exclaimed surprisingly, leaning forward in excitement. "How'd you do it?"

"A true prankster never reveals their secrets!" Mana grinned teasingly, grabbing herself a pastry. "Though I might be willing to share a few minor ones if you're interested..."

Mana noticed Mahado sending her a rather deadly look and wilted a little in fear. "Um... but that might have to wait for a time Mahado's not around... he's kind of scary when he's mad..."

Amane turned with a sweet grin and waved at Mahado, instantly making him relax. She shrugged at Mana's shocked look. "It helps to be considered the sweet one," she said nonchalantly.

Mana watched Amane for a moment before smiling sincerely. "I like you," she stated simply.

Amane giggled. "Why thank you... I like you too!"

Both girls completely ignored the silent boys, who were actually content to just watch the girls talk about girly things, like dancing and flowers. Which was totally weird, but they also included pranks in there as well, so not much was lost.

"Mana?" Valon appeared out of nowhere, with Kaiba not far behind. "Your friend's looking for you."

"Huh?" Mana saw Rebecca and grinned. "Oh! Rebecca, come over here!"

Rebecca followed her orders, bringing Noah, Mokuba, and another boy with her. "This is Leon!" Rebecca introduced the boy happily, holding onto his arm, which Noah noted unhappily.

"Hi! I'm Mana!"

"Amane." Amane smiled reassuringly at the obviously nervous boy.

"Bakura."

"Marik."

"Hello... it's nice to meet you..." Aw, what a polite little boy... Mana planned to make sure that boy wasn't too polite by the end of this trip.

"Seto, Valon, why don't you join us?" Amane asked politely, ignoring the quiet groans from Marik and Bakura. In fact, Mana was pretty sure she'd kicked the two to make them shut up.

Valon sent them a grin that Mana hadn't seen, and nearly made her swoon. He really was good looking... "Sure, why not?" he said in response, taking the seat nearest Mana.

Seto just sat down at the first empty seat, and Mana began searching for conversation. "Um... so, how have you both been?"

"Fine." Seto was such a great conversationalist... Not!

"Just fine, since we saw each other last night," Valon sent back flirtatiously.

Oh wow... much more talkative! Mana found she liked having Valon talk... made conversations much more interesting!

She found herself shifting her attention between the entire group, taking pictures the entire time, until Valon had to go back to Dartz and Seto decided to go do whatever it was he did as CEO. The kids left sometime to go run around and entertain themselves, leaving the original four at the table.

"So, who wants a tour?" Marik offered after finishing off the food on the table.

"I do!" Mana cheered excitedly, grabbing Marik's arm. "I want a tour, I want a tour!" They discreetly left the party area, Mana still holding onto Marik and laughing cheerfully. He lead them out of the gardens and into the actual manor, pointing out things he thought might interest the only stranger to the house.

"And this has a lot of the ancient Egyptian items we've watched over the years," Marik said, opening the door to one of the lower rooms. "Of course, a lot of them are missing, or in museums now, but we still keep these."

"Lots of gold!" Mana said, stating the obvious, resisting the urge to take a picture. Amane noticed this and pointed it out to Marik, who gladly let her squeeze the group into the room to take a picture.

Mana was super excited during the tour, asking tons of questions, and taking even more pictures.

"Oh, you'll be interested in this..." Marik opened the door to one of the many storage closets and Mana looked at him with confusion in her eyes as the other two in their party started laughing uncontrollably.

"It's a storage closet..." Mana said, wondering what was so special about it.

"Not just any storage closet," Bakura gasped out during his laughing. "It's your brother's storage closet."

"My brother's... oh!" Mana began laughing with the rest of the party, and she insisted on taking a picture of the closet, and let the rest of them pose inside it, laughing even harder when Marik and Bakura began their own little reenactment of the prank they'd played.

Marik and Bakura pointed out where they'd performed their numerous pranks on her brother, and Amane showed Mana places that they neglected, such as the balcony with a view of the rose gardens.

"How do you forget to show a girl the prettiest areas of the house?" Amane scolded gently, laughing as the boys berated themselves for the same thing.

"Hey, it's blue! How do you do that?" Mana squealed in excitement, zooming in on her camera to take a picture of the blue rose. "And that one! They're so colorful! Does a rose even come in green?"

"Want to see it up close?" Marik offered.

"Yes!" Mana squealed, pulling on his arm to make him take her there faster. Amane laughed at the girl's excitement. It was hard to believe she could fit in so well with the rich, but she barely knew anything about their kind of lifestyle.

Mana ran wild in that garden. She stopped at every rose bush and took pictures, and then she ran back to them, dragging one of them to pose in front of the roses. Bakura finally told her to give him the camera so she could get in some pictures herself.

Amane felt herself get dragged in front of the blue roses and posed with Mana, laughing with her, the excitement contagious. Amane took the camera when Mana dragged Bakura in front of the green roses, and then Marik in front of the multi-colored ones. Amane giggled and snapped a picture of both boys giving Mana roses they'd cut quickly for her.

"This is so much fun!" Mana laughed, walking ahead of the group back to the party. "It's so big, but it's so pretty here! I thought it would be all business-like, but it's not!"

"Want to come to our house tomorrow?" Amane asked, glancing at her brother for a nod of approval after she'd made the offer. "We can send someone to pick you up."

"Really? I'd love to come!" Mana's eyes widened in excitement. "That would be amazing! You're sure it's alright? You don't need to ask anyone? Not that I'm mad or sad or worried or anything, but I don't want to get you in trouble, and..."

"It's fine. You coming or not?" Bakura asked gruffly, earning a playful frown from Mana.

"I'm coming!"

Mahado watched the group reappear, feeling both irritated and pleased that his sister was doing so well fitting in. Of course, he could just be too over-protective, wanting to make sure that Mana was alright, but he really did wish that she didn't automatically fit in with other pranksters.

Of course, Amane was a good influence...

Mana noticed Mahado watching them and waved cheerfully, grinning wide enough to dissuade any of his worries. As long as Mana was happy, then he'd deal with any troubles that came along.

"Wow, Amane, you're right! I just have to make it seem like I'm not doing anything wrong and not avoid him and he backs down!" Mana said, happily surprised. "Hey, do you think fake tears work too?"

Amane lowered her voice conspiratorially so that her brother couldn't hear her. "If he's yelling at you, then yes. You've got to make it seem like you're really sorry, and that his yelling is hurting your feelings. Guys are suckers for tears."

Mana laughed quietly. "Man, and I had you down for being the sweet quiet one! Well, you know what they say... it's always the quiet ones!"

Amane smiled shyly. "Well, next to Bakura, who isn't sweet?"

Mana nodded in agreement, but then contradicted her new friend. "Marik isn't."

"Good point."

~~()~~()~~()~~

"Bye! See you tomorrow!" Mana called as the Bakura siblings left the party, and then returning her attention to Rebecca and her little entourage.

Leon had already gone home, as well as Dartz and his group, but all the Kaibas had remained, as well as a few other choice companies that Mana didn't care too much about.

"No way is the Blue Eyes better than Red Eyes! Red Eyes looks so much cooler!" Rebecca was obsessed with dragons at the moment, and so she was even more obsessed wtih the dragons in the Duel Monsters game.

"I'm more fond of the magicians," Mana put in, only to be shushed. She laughed good-naturedly, eating Rebecca's food unnoticed.

Marik had disappeared, something Mana only just then noticed. She looked around curiously, and saw Seto standing alone in a corner. Making sure she wasn't missed, she made her way over to him.

"Hey! What are you doing here all alone?" Mana asked curiously, standing in front of the boy, marveling at the height difference. Since she didn't get an answer to her first question, she continued to talk. "You're really tall! I bet you're taller than my friend Kisara! And she's super tall!"

"I came because I like the quiet." Mana recognized his sentence as a response to her first question, and she frowned, feeling a little insulted.

"Well I'm sorry I interrupted your quiet time," Mana muttered, disappointed that the boy couldn't be more social like his younger brothers. "I'll just go then."

"Why'd you come?" Seto's sudden question stopped her in her tracks.

"Why'd I come where?" Mana returned, seriously confused. Did Mr. Anti-social actually ask her a question?

"Why'd you come to England?"

"Huh? Oh, Mahado didn't want to leave me alone and I didn't want to stay at my friend's house. He doesn't let me stay with just any friend so..." Mana shrugged, unconcerned and unwilling to give Seto the whole truth. "I came to England."

"I see..." Mana had the idea that he thought he saw what she was talking about, but he really didn't. She grinned at the idea that Seto Kaiba wouldn't know everything. "Hey, can I ask you a favor?"

Seto sent her a suspicious glare. He had spent far too much time listening to Mahado's tales about her. "It depends on the favor."

Mana's grin grew as she held up her camera devilishly. "Can I take your picture?"

~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana uploaded her pictures from the camera into her laptop, fidgeting nervously as she waited. She grinned at the roses she put on her bedside cabinet, remembering Mahado's face when she told him she'd gotten them from Marik and Bakura.

After what had to be forever, but was really only fifteen minutes, the pictures saved on her computer. Mana organized them all into folders: Marik & Bakura, Amane, Bakura, Marik, Valon, The Kids, and Seto. Of course, she only had one picture to put for Seto, but it was always nice to be organized since she needed to send these to people.

After she'd gotten sorted through, she opened up her email so she could read what they'd sent back. Her happy smile fell when she saw an email from Atemu, asking her what she'd been up to and if she was feeling okay. He had noticed her missing at least...

She shook her head and decided not to even reply. The whole idea was to stay away from contact with him. He'd find out she was in England eventually, but hopefully she wouldn't see him again until his college breaks.

She started up a new email, getting back into happy mood to write to the rest of her friends.

**Sent to: Everyone but Atemu**

**From: Mana**

**Subject: Garden Parties**

**Attachments: Lots of pictures**

**If you can find a nice big, pretty garden at home, I highly recommend having a garden party. If you avoid having business owners at the party, it will be a blast! Have lots of kids and teenagers there, and you will have the time of your life!**

**Attached are pictures I took (there's a lot) at the garden party I went to today! Yes Miho, I put in pictures of every guy I've mentioned, and more. Just for you! And don't worry, if you want me to take pictures for you, I will! Just tell me! :D**

**Anyways, not much more to report besides the fact that strangely colored roses are really cool and we should try to find some! So, private messages for all of you!**

**Mai: No, I did not mean to insult Joey when I said Valon was a serious version of him. I just thought it was kind of funny, and guess what? Valon actually talks more! It's amazing! He talked today!**

**Tea: Did you get it? Don't open it before your birthday silly! You need to wait still! **

**Duke: I'm confused! Simplify these instructions! Don't try to cheat by making me confused!**

**Kisara: I miss you! Seriously, I'm homesick for everyone, but I really miss you and your awesomeness and the way you totally fit in everywhere! I'd call or text, but my phone company lied when they promised me worldwide service!**

**Joey: As I said to Mai, I did not mean to insult you! It was a good thing! I liked having someone remind me of home! You should feel honored! Really!**

**Miho: I got the pictures! I got the pictures! And you know what? I still have a lot more time to get even more! I hope you enjoy all the hot guy images I'm sending you!**

**That's all! I'll see you all in a few months! Remember, don't tell anyone about where I am! (Especially you Yugi!) **

**I'll send another email tomorrow! Don't forget to reply everyone! I need replies to live! Don't let me die! XD**

**~Mana**

Rini: Hope you liked this chapter! Review please! Review please, pretty please with a cherry on top?

MBP: *sighs* Please review before Rini's head explodes...

Rini: My head would not explode!

MBP: Whatever... Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Kio: Um... well, I guess t-that's it... Jaa nee!


End file.
